The biblical answer is yes and no. The answer is yes, but with an essential distinction: God stands in holy, judicial opposition to sinners in rebellion, while acting toward sinners with redemptive love by providing salvation through Christ for all who come to him in faith.
1. Some terminology
In this study, “sin” is used as a broad term for all that is contrary to God’s character and will, including evil, iniquity, wickedness, transgression, and unrighteousness. These words can emphasise different aspects of sin, but all belong within the wider biblical category of sin Genesis 4:7; 1 John 5:17a.
2. Why the question matters
A wrong understanding of God’s attitude toward sinners can distort the gospel and blind hearers to its truth rather than lead them to salvation 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.
As we will see, the biblical answer to the question requires a distinction between God’s holy opposition to sinners in rebellion and his redemptive goodwill toward them. This study traces both themes and shows how they meet at the cross.
3. God’s holiness
We start not with God’s love, but his holiness. His attitude to sin emanates from this aspect of his nature ie that he is morally pure, wholly distinct from evil, and consistent in all his judgments. God’s holiness is absolute and without equal.
1 Samuel 2:2 God alone is holy
Isaiah 6:3 The surpassing fullness of God’s holiness
Habakkuk 1:13 His eyes are too pure to approve evil or look favourably upon wrongdoing
4. God’s opposition to all that is contrary to his holiness
Psalm 5:4 God takes no pleasure in wickedness
Passages that explicitly name what God hates:
Deuteronomy 12:31 The abominable practices of the nations, including sacrificing children by fire
Deuteronomy 16:22 Idolatrous images or pillars
Psalm 5:5 All workers of iniquity
Psalm 11:5 The wicked and the one who loves violence
Psalm 45:7 Wickedness
Proverbs 6:16-19 A proud look; a lying tongue; hands that shed innocent blood; a heart devising wicked imaginations; feet swift to mischief; a false witness; and one who sows discord
Isaiah 1:14 Hypocritical new moons and appointed feasts
Isaiah 61:8 Robbery for burnt offering
Jeremiah 44:4 Idolatrous abominations
Hosea 9:15 Israel in persistent wickedness at Gilgal
Amos 5:21 Religious feast days and assemblies offered without righteousness
Amos 6:8 The pride of Jacob and his palaces
Zechariah 8:17 Imagining evil against one’s neighbour and false oaths
Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13 Esau
Malachi 2:16 Putting away, or treacherous divorce
Revelation 2:6 The deeds of the Nicolaitans
5. All men have sinned
Every person stands guilty before God, both by nature and by practice. Universal guilt establishes that no one approaches this question as a neutral observer: every person stands under God’s judgment and needs the salvation that God provides.
Genesis 5:3 Adam’s fallen image passed on
Psalm 51:5 David acknowledges he was a sinner from birth
Romans 3:10 There are none righteous
Romans 3:23 All have sinned
Romans 5:12 Sin passed upon all men
6. God hates the workers of iniquity
In these passages, “hate” describes God’s holy and judicial opposition to sinners in rebellion. It does not imply emotional instability; it identifies his righteous stance as judge toward those who remain guilty before him. These passages describe more than God’s disapproval of sinful acts: they present his holy, judicial opposition to people who persist in rebellion.
Psalm 5:5 God’s holy opposition extends beyond iniquity itself to those who practise it and remain identified with it
Psalm 11:5 His soul hates the violent
Psalm 101:7 Ditto
Psalm 24:3-5 Contrast: Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD
7. Men thus begin from a position of condemnation
John 3:18-19 The unbeliever is condemned already because of unbelief and a preference for darkness rather than light.
Ephesians 2:1-3 Humanity apart from Christ is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and, by nature, under wrath.
Together, these passages show that sinners do not begin merely at risk of condemnation; they begin under condemnation and in need of divine rescue.
8. God’s will is for all men to be saved
We must understand God’s gracious initiative: he does not delight in the death of the wicked, and he provides the salvation that sinners cannot provide for themselves. God’s revealed will shows his benevolent desire toward all humanity.
1 Timothy 2:4 He will have all men to be saved
Ezekiel 33:11 He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked
9. God loves sinners in that…
God’s saving love is shown not by ignoring sin, but by providing salvation from it. In the KJV, “love” toward sinners is God’s benevolent, redemptive action, not sentimental affection. It is his purposeful goodwill shown at the cross, where he provided salvation for those under judgment.
1 John 4:10 Love defined as God sending His Son to be the propitiation
John 3:16 The greatness of God’s love for the world: he gave his only begotten Son
2 Corinthians 5:21 Christ was made sin for us
Romans 5:8 Christ died for us while we were yet sinners
Ephesians 2:4-5 God loved us while we were spiritually dead
Titus 3:4 God’s kindness and love appeared in Christ
At the cross, God’s judicial opposition to sin and his saving love toward sinners are displayed together: sin is judged, and salvation is provided through Christ.
Romans 5:1 Peace with God by faith
10. Saints commit sin, but are not “sinners”
A crucial Pauline distinction: believers are not identified as “sinners.”
Romans 5:8 Saints were “sinners”. Believers still commit sin, but sin no longer defines their standing before God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 A saints changed identity: “Such were some of you… but ye are washed.”
Paul ordinarily addresses believers as saints, brethren, justified, righteous, accepted, and new creatures rather than defining them by their former identity as sinners. God’s hatred of “workers of iniquity” applies to the unregenerate, not the justified. This prevents confusion when teaching both God’s hatred and God’s love.
11. Conclusion
God’s holiness demands that he hate sin and judge sinners.
Man’s universal guilt places every person under that judgment.
God has acted in redemptive love by sending Christ to die for the ungodly. Those who believe are justified, accepted in Christ, and no longer defined by their former identity as sinners.
Thus the answer to our question requires both truths: God stands in holy, judicial opposition to sinners in rebellion, yet he acts toward sinners with redemptive love, providing salvation through Christ for all who come to him in faith.